The Mossawa center issued a press release calling on Arab political and social institutions to face the racism, ethnic discrimination and the killing of Arab citizens, emphasizing the importance of ending the pattern of reacting to racial incitement. We must have a plan which influences and shapes public opinion and creates a new discourse.

On January 11th, Channel two broadcast, an in depth documentary on racism in Israel. The journalist Gal Gabai documented the wide spread discrimination which is perpetuated against citizens of different backgrounds. Gabai also documented the discrimination and harsh practices used against Arabs at Ben Gurion airport as well as the on going phenomenon of police brutality against Arab citizens, which has resulted in the deaths of over 56 citizens since 2000. The Preparations for the documentary were done in cooperation with the Mossawa Center.

Gabai interviewed Dr. Abed Eghbarieh, an oncology specialist. Abed spoke about the racist treatment he personally experiences every time he travels through Ben Gurion airport, and stressed that this is the experience of Arab citizens in general. He was also filmed in the hospital where he works to cure thousands of Jewish and Arab patients suffering from cancer. Doctor Eghbarieh works in the oncology department in Assuta hospital, and he is working on setting up an oncology department in Bnai Zion hospital in Haifa, in addition he works in Maccabi clinics as well as hospitals in Nazareth.

In another part of the documentary, Gabai documented the killing of the Arab citizen Eyad Abdallah from Ein Naqquba village, near Jerusalem. The documentary used the recording from security cameras, which recorded the entire process of the pursuit conducted by the police, in which Eyad was killed. In the documentary film, Eyad’s wife and his family asked for police responsible for this crime to be brought to justice.

The Mossawa center will continue to follow the very serious issue of police brutality against Arab citizens.

Mossawa is currently working in cooperation with Adv. Amy Hollander who will accompany Abdallah’s family, through the legal process. Mr. Hollander has worked with the Mossawa center in the past in perusing the case file from the killing of the young Mahmoud Abu Sni by police.

Doctor Eghbarie in cooperation with Mossawa center are working to raise awareness of the issue of racial profiling of Arab citizens at airport. Dr. Eghbarie met with the President “Reuven Rivlin” and requested

that he intervene to stop this racist treatment and the unethical classification policy. Following his message, the president called Dr. Eghbarie and asked the airports authority to meet with him to discuss his demands and the demands of the entire Arab community against racial profiling. During this past week Dr. Eghbarieh met with the airport authority administration, they explained to him the whole security mechanism and the plan for changing the security protocol in the airports in the coming months. Dr. Eghbarieh said, “We have to assume responsibility to combat racism in all forms and every where, as a doctor I work to cure patients every day, I amjoining political and human rights institutions in order to fight and defend our rights, and the future of our children.”

The Mossawa Center is planning to increase the media and public components of it's work to counter the prime minister’s incitement in the last weeks. Netanyahu not only denounced the Arab population as a gang of criminals living in “a state of their own” but made once again clear his view of the Arab community as a fifth column in Israel by saying, “One cannot say ‘I am Israeli in my rights and Palestinian in my responsibilities.’ Whoever wants to be Israeli must be Israeli all the way, with rights and responsibilities, and the first and foremost responsibility is to follow the laws of the state.” Netanyahu also depicted Arab political parties, and condemned the Arab Joint List as well as the Islamic movement, which was outlawed in November, for “extremism and terrorism”.

Click here to view the documentary film produced by channel 2 (Hebrew):

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